Altec Software (Greece)

In order for a user to develop rich and valid knowledge structures, not only is considerable predefined content required, but other equally important types of knowledge as well. In other words, to display real understanding and to build and extend their knowledge structures, users have to call on several resources as well as representation, retrieval and construction mechanisms. Apart from the specific content, on which traditional educational environments focus on, a user depends heavily on general content knowledge and on systems of knowledge that is more abstract and elusive than typical content. In this article, we document our myCourse approach presenting three application scenarios. In these scenarios, knowledge creation is a process of emergence and co-evolution of the individual, the social group and the wider society.

This chapter introduces the core aspects of an approach facilitating the valuation of intangible assets created by virtual organisations. The approach we present relies on established simple unified procedures which can drastically reduce problems caused by handling each situation individually, especially if there is no previous experience of similar cases. At the same time, the volume, value, and visibility of transactions between the various stakeholders and involved parties is increased. We conclude with an example case analysis related to the reality faced in collaborative research projects; these are carried out by diverse partners operating as a virtual organisation whose different intellectual assets (IAs) and the value thereof need to be recognised in order to prepare the ground for successful project completion.Request access from your librarian to read this chapter's full text.

A major challenge for virtual organisations in that respect is the integration of their various corporate organisational and information assets, as well as their communication infrastructures and personnel. There also remains a need for greater understanding of how such virtual enterprises will operate in a ‘shared data / information / knowledge environment’, through distributed working approaches and based on the paradigm of using the Situation Room metaphor as the core paradigm for carrying out joint operations. In this Chapter, we present a methodology for modelling corporate interactions using the concept of the Situation Room (SR) as a supporting paradigm. Such an approach enables a way to model interactions of a virtual enterprise nature by means of a information and knowledge auction market that is concerned with the communications and interactions within a virtual enterprise (VE). This forms part of a wider research in defining a methodological framework for Situation Room Analysis (SRA), and its deployment for complex corporate intelligence systems study.

Businesses are aware of the popular demand for careful waste management as a high priority environmental issue. Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) face greater pressure when coping with waste products, because they often lack necessary resources or expertise. E-business could offer unique opportunities both for SMEs wanting to dispose of their waste or find waste management services and for SMEs who deal with specific aspects of waste disposal itself. This chapter proposes an approach for locating actors involved in the transportation, disposal, recycling and reuse of waste created by SMEs. Our approach incorporates the notion of Request Based Virtual Organizations (RBVOs) using a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) and an ontology for the definition of waste management requirements. The populated ontology is utilized by a Multi-Agent System which performs negotiations and forms RBVOs. This approach enables SMEs to find appropriate partners, handle waste management and gain competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Transcendental matters of services: communities of users, service idealism, theological and existentialist perspectives on services – this chapter (in contrast to the previous one) is the most philosophical part of the entire book though it is of straight utility for its linkage to many service business and management topics. Furthermore, in this chapter we present a methodology (PACE) that helps for the valuation of intangible assets like (what else?) services. PACE is presented with practical examples and contextually linked with project and other service related activities. Services unequivocally constitute an area where increasing interest of experts from the areas of intellectual capital management and valuation will be concentrated, as they on their own possess qualities and characteristics of intangible assets because of their immaterial nature.